


Keepsakes

by R_4_L



Category: Boruto
Genre: Mentions of canon deaths
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-07 05:46:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16848301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/R_4_L/pseuds/R_4_L
Summary: Hinata hopes that shows Boruto a little of his father's past will help her son understand his father better.  Naruto joins them and the trio go through the trunk of keepsakes that he has set aside.  What objects had does he have to represent each of his friends.





	Keepsakes

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Naruto or Boruto they are the creative genius of Masashi Kishimoto. I am just a fan and write for fun.
> 
> Not beta read, so all mistakes are mine. I also need to admit that I haven't gotten far into Boruto so I am making a lot of assumptions. I apologize in advance for any major mistakes.

Konohamaru had first shown Naruto the storage rooms under the evacuation site watched over by the stone faces after Pein's attack. Most of the rooms were for important documents for the village. Some families were able to use them too as well as the Hokage. Naruto had brought Hinata down to the room he'd been given to show her where it was, in case there were things she wanted to store there.

With the way things were between Boruto and his father, she was thinking about taking him to the room and showing him the photo albums she had there. Maybe he'd understand his father a little more after that. She knew that Naruto was focusing on the village right now and that meant that the family was getting neglected, but to be fair neither of them really had a normal upbringing to understand what family was meant to be like.

"I know you want your father's approval and I believe that you have it. He just doesn't know how to show it." Hinata waited for her son balk. He was just as quick to deny needing anything as his father was. 

"Whatever." The sulking had the same result.

"Alright, come with me." Hinata decided that a trip to see the photos was definitely needed. Naruto was away at the moment and Himawari was with her aunt for the day.

"But mom, I was going to go hang out with Shikadai."

"No, you're coming with me." The two were quiet on the walk over, it wasn't until Hinata unlocked the door that Boruto asked why they were there.

"I know that your father hasn't been there for you the way that you want. I want to explain things to you. I'm not making excuses, but perhaps this is a way for you to understand where he's coming from. This is the storage unit that is given to us because he is the Hokage. I have some of my mother's things in here and the photo albums from my childhood. I didn't think it was fair to keep them at the house."

"Why, we have photo albums at the house already. There are tons of them, with pictures of me and Himawari and you and dad. Even ones with all of your friends there. Why are these different?" 

Hinata smiled, alone just the two of them with no judgement; Boruto wasn't being argumentative. "Flip through them and you tell me." 

She sat down and watched as her son went through her childhood. Album by album he flipped through her life. From her birth, Hanabi's birth, Hinata's acceptance into the academy, her graduation as a genin, pictures with Neji, Uncle Hizashi and her father. Her squad. Shino's wedding to Hana, Kiba and Akamaru through out the years. The pictures taken after the war of all the new friends they'd made and the rebuilding process were the last ones here. The album of their wedding, Naruto's inauguration, the many diplomatic visits and the birth of the kids; those were at the house.

"Why do you have like, fifteen photo albums and dad has like one. Even that one has photos only from like school, there are no candids."

"Boruto, you remember that your grandparents died the night your father was born right?" Boruto nodded solemnly, "Naruto lived in the village orphanage until he was four, then he was on his own until we got married. He only found out about Jiraya being his godfather shortly before the man's death. The reality is, there was no one around to take photos of your father during those important moments, even candid ones from when he was a child are rare."

Boruto gapped, "you're serious. I mean you both mentioned that dad was an orphan but I guess I didn't really think about it."

"Well Himawari is five now, so look at from that point of view. Your dad was a year younger then your sister when he was living by himself, cooking every meal, getting ready for school, cleaning the house, doing laundry, all of that; alone."

Boruto took a moment to really let that sink in. He was starting to tear up and he didn't want his mother to see him cry. Walking around the storage unit he looked at the other items there. A large trunk caught his attention. "Mom, what's this?"

Hinata looked at the create. It was a sturdy one, sealed against moisture and insects. "I'm not sure."

"Can we open it and see?" Boruto didn't want to invade his father privacy if it was something special, but he was finally starting to understand his father a little bit.

"That's where I kept my special treasures."

The deeper voice from the door startled both of them. Naruto was leaning against the door frame, his arms crossed a smile on his face. He'd let Hinata know about the chakra trap later, for now he didn't want to disrupt the good mood. "Go ahead and open it. I haven't added anything to it in a bit and I have something I'd like to put in there."

Naruto helped his son pull the trunk off the shelf and onto the floor. He sat to one side and pulled Hinata into his lap. The fact that she seemed startled by the action proved Shikamaru's point that he'd been away from home for too long. Maybe it was time to take a bit of a break, if only for a couple of day. She deserved so more then he could ever give her.

Boruto opened the chest and pulled out the first item and looked at his parents. A ratty old orange track suit. 

His mother laughed, "oh my god." 

"I know," his father smiled. "I had asked Konohamaru to look after my place when I first left on my three years of training with Jiraya. After his death when I went to train on Mount Myoboku and Geezer toad; Pein attacked. Konohamaru took upon himself to keep my stuff safe, one of those things being the old jump suit I used to wear that I'd out grown."

Boruto sat on his knees, hands on the edge of the trunk and peered inside. There were a number of familiar boxes. They were 15cm wide, 20cm long and about 13cm high. The top had place to slide in a photo. It was a common gift for most genin, something for them to put their team photo and momentos from their team. The question was, why did his dad have so many?

"You have academy boxes?" He had to ask.

"Yep," his dad answered.

"But dad, you have like five academy boxes?" Boruto's confusion was still evident.

Naruto just laughed. "Just grab one. We'll open it and I'll tell your the story."

The first one grabbed was his father's box. He really admired both Sakura and Sasuke.

Naruto laughed again. "Okay so as you can likely tell by the team photo. Sasuke and I didn't get along at the time. Hell half the time it seemed like the two of us were fighting. Of course neither one us would admit to looking up to the other, or seeing each other as a rival." He waited for his son to open the box. "I have one of the bells that Kakashi used in our genin test to see if we could operate as a team. This is a different pair. His prized possession is a pair like this that your grandfather used to teach his team the same lesson. This pair were crushed just before he had been kidnapped for his kekkei genkai and I spent a lot of time fixing them so that they could be used again on the journey to rescue him. From Sakura, I have a lock of her hair. We were taking the Chunin exams and were in the Forest of Death under Anko's supervision. Orchimaru attacked Sasuke and myself, and we were both unconscious. Sakura protected us from some other ninja and in doing so she cut off all of her hair. I went back once everything calmed down to collect some. You see at the time I stupidly thought I was in love with her. Of course, she only ever had eyes for Sasuke and I knew that I kept saying I loved her because I knew she didn't."

"That's stupid."

Hinata leaned back further in Naruto's arms.

"Is it? Think about it. I was a young kid who knew your mother had a crush on me and thought she was cute, but what would I have done if at that age I'd tried to date her? Likely make things such a mess that your mother would run away screaming. By stating I had a crush on a girl, who I knew didn't like me, it was a safe place for me to be until I could understand my emotions a little better. I'm not saying it was a smart way to handle it; but it was one way."

Hinata blushed, "you knew?"

Naruto nuzzled his wife's neck, his arms tightening around her, "I was never as dense as everyone thought I was. I knew you had a crush on me and I thought you were cute. But like I said I wouldn't have known what to do at all."

"So this is from Sasuke or you?" Boruto held up a shuriken.

"Both that and the ying-yang marble are Sasuke. The shuriken is one he used to use. The guy has amazing aim. Itachi used to practice with him and Sasuke had taken upon himself to be better then his brother. He's the best I know now. The ying-yang marble is something that I got for the both of us. I found this craftsman years ago, when I was traveling with Yamato, who made them. I bought one for me and one for him. People kept saying how the two of us were opposites but that you couldn't have one without the other. I thought it suited us, in fact we considered ourselves to be as close as brothers at one point. The dark and the light, you need them both and you can't always tell which one is which because sometime we switch."

Boruto could kinda see it. He'd heard how Sasuke had worked against the village for a while before changing, so there was the going from dark to light. His father though, all everyone ever called him was the light of hope. How had his father ever been dark? "I guess."

Naruto watched the confusion cross his son's face. "What has you confused Boruto? I mean the story about Sakura and Orchimaru is ancient history now. He has proven himself to be an ally."

"No, it's not that. I mean I guess it's really the marble. Sasuke has been upfront about how he disappointed the village and how he's working on correcting that. So I can see how he can be viewed as light and dark. I guess it's you. What's your dark side?"

"Well, it's under control now, but when I was younger, my dark side was Kurama. We didn't have a good relationship and if I lost control everyone was in danger. I hurt a number of my friends and did a lot of damage with his power. In fact at a number of times the village considered not only locking me away, but also ending my life. Kurama was a dark place for me in many ways and so was my own mind. I'm not ashamed to say that there was a time when I thought committing suicide would make life easier for everyone in the village. Somehow every time things got really bad, someone was there for me. Granny helped me find someone to talk to and I learned how to get a handle on things. Kurama and I became friends and that made life easier. Everyone has a dark and a light side. The important thing is to remember that we don't know what their life was like before we meet them. The whole 'don't to judge a book by it's cover' lecture that Iruka loves." Naruto's smile was bright.

Boruto was amazed, he'd never heard anything like this about his dad. The village wanted him contained or dead? He had always been the village hero. Carefully putting the items back in the box. "What about Sai? I thought he was part of your team as well? And Yamato?"

"Yeah, those two are definitely part of team seven. The thing is we really don't have a picture of us. Sai did do a painting of the fou of us, it should be in there somewhere." He watched as Boruto searched and pulled out the signing portrait. "That's the one. His artwork is really amazing. For the longest time, when he first joined our group, none of his artwork had names. There is a wooden figure that Yamato made of Kurama in there somewhere. I learned so much from him." 

Boruto pulled out the 20cm tall wooden sculpture of the nine tailed fox. It looked amazing, the tails all up and individual but his head resting calmly on his folded paws. Reaching for the next box he realized that each one of these was going to contain stories that were going to be both happy and sad. The picture showed two boys and a girl with their Sensei, if he had to guess he'd say it was Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino as they really haven't changed much.

"Team 10 was lead by Asuma Sarutobi. He was the son of the Third Hokage, the lover of Kurenai Yuhi and the father of Mirai. Unfortunately he was killed by the Akatsuki. The chakra blade was a gift to me from him. It's still really sharp. He also had wind chakra nature and taught me how to use it. I wish I could have worked with him more, I know his team really misses him." Naruto took a minute to say a prayer to the man who helped to explain things in a simple manner. "I sure you remember all those meals we've had over at the Akimichi household. The recipe card is one my favorites that Choji makes. It's his sweet dumplings. I keep trying to make them, but they never turn out."

"We have this written down at home." Boruto wanted to know what made this card different from the one in their kitchen.

Hinata smiled. "I wrote that one out. I know how much your father loved the sweet dumpling that Choji makes and so the last time I was over there I copied the recipe. The one at our house is in my hand writing, that one was written by Choji, right?"

Naruto just nodded. "Ino and her family run the best flower shop in town. It's the only place I have ever bought flower for your mother, Ino always adds a couple flowers that have deep meaning for the occasion. Her father called her 'bush clover' which was something of a family trait. After Inoichi died I happen to find some flowering on my way home from a mission. I asked Sakura if she thought it'd be ok and we decided that it'd work as a good memorial present so we made a couple of bookmarks with the pressed flowers. Ino and Sakura both got one because Ino and Sakura had spent so much time over together as children, Inoichi was almost like a second father to her. I kept one as memento of Ino because she always wore purple and the flowers, well it just made sense." He was glad that Hinata was sitting in his lap so that she couldn't see him blush. 

The little shoji piece held up in Boruto's hand had Naruto smiling again.

"Shikamaru. That man is the smartest man I know. I remembered thinking that I should ask him to show me how to play shoji. That had to have been the stupidest thing I had ever done. The guy killed me in like two moves. The plans he comes up with, I don't know where he gets them." Naruto leaned his head back and looked up at the ceiling. "Whenever we were sent out together Shikamaru would curse me up and down the road. I would constantly throw a wrench into his plans, because I never ended up listening to his strategies and I acted without thought. He'd have to improvise on the fly. When I became Hokage and I asked him to be my main advisor, I think I almost broke him. He finally admitted that my reacting without thinking forced him to think outside the box. He has taught me the value of following a plan, that doesn't mean I always end up listening but I do try."

"So this is mom's team box." Boruto was excited to see what his father had saved from his mother.

"Well I didn't deal a lot with Kurenai; but when I was trying to work up my nerve to ask your mother out on a date, she gave me some good advice. So there's a book there that she gave me, it was one of your mother's favorite book of poems. I think she was hoping that I would read it and it would help me either gain the courage to ask her out or understand your mother better. I have to say all it did was confuse me. I still don't understand poetry." His self depreciating laugh had Hinata turning partially in his lap and kissing his cheek.

"But you tried, and if it remember correctly you even wrote me a poem. I have it in my jewelry box at home."

"A very poorly written poem." Naruto blushed a little. "I can't believe that you still have it?"  
Hinata just smiled. Boruto watched his parents. He didn't think he ever seen them look like this. They were flirting, carefree. He liked it.

"The little pot, is some ointment that your mother first gave me during the Chunin exams when I was injured. At the time, she didn't know that Kurama would heal all of my injuries. She was very thoughtful that way. It was also the first time it really dawned on me that she had a crush on me. The kikaichu in resin is from Shino. It's one of his insects. I wasn't always a good friend. When Sai joined our group, one of our first missions was with Shino and I hadn't introduced them properly. I didn't know how. There were also a couple of missions that we went out on as a group that Shino missed and it really irritated him. When it came to light that I really didn't know how to track older chakra trails it was Shino who taught me using his bugs. I asked him if I could keep and resin one. He agreed. When I found out that he was doubting his teaching skills, I remember sitting down and talking to him. Shino is one of the most patient of our group, aside from your mother. Of course the last is the stuffed replica of Akumaru from Kiba. Man the trouble the two of us got into during the academy days. Kiba and I were always trying one up one another."

Boruto took a couple of minutes to put everything back into the box and lay it beside the chest. The next box was going to bring up some tough memories, Uncle Neji's picture was on it.

"Team Gai. I have a lot of respect Gai, he gave me one of his green jumpsuits. No one would let me wear it. I think it's in the chest somewhere. The work out gloves are ones that I used to spar with Lee. Learning to better my taijutsu and my sense of self worth. Lee really taught me that being a shinobi wasn't completely dependent on what jutsus I knew or how strong I was. TenTen's storage scrolls. The first time I ever used one, it exploded in my face and I had no clue how to put everything back in. I ended up using a backpack and carting everything back manually until I ended up meeting with TenTen on the way back. She taught me how to use the scroll. I mean I likely could have stored al of this in one of the scrolls, but then you need a couple of people to open and close it. I keep adding stuff, so the chest works best. I love walking around her weapons store, not that I know how to use most of them."

"I don't think anyone but TenTen knows how to use most of them." Boruto stated. "I like walking around her store too, Metal is often there and TenTen will tell us the history behind some o the older tools she has."

"I'm glad that she teach you the history of the tools and not just how to use weapons." Hinata frowned, "that wasn't right. We're shinobi so we need to know how use the weapons properly and TenTen is responsible enough to make sure that you guys know how to use them correctly. What I meant was that I'm glad she's teaching you both about other items that she has in the store and not just focusing on weapons."

"TenTen's shop has become almost a repository for some of the most unique items the Leaf has to offer. Some of them she won't sell no matter how much she gets offered for them. I know of a couple of Lords that have asked me to use my influence to get her sell some things to them." Naruto grinned, he was so proud of what TenTen had accomplished on her own. "I've refused, letting them know that I have no influence over what the town shopkeepers sell or refuse to sell."

"So that means that this last item is something from Uncle Neji, then right?" Boruto's voice quieted.

Hinata was curious to see what Naruto had kept from her stoic cousin.

Boruto held up a bird's feather.

"It's more a symbol. I know it meant a lot more to Neji then to me, but at the same time it was one of the only time the two of really sat down and talked after the Chunin. I was in the hospital after fighting Gaara for the first time. Neji had been hospitalized after helping rescue your mother from being kidnapped. We met on the rooftop, it was the only place a person could sit without getting yelled at. It was one of these times that we were up there at the same time. Neji and I talked about some of the things we had talked about during the Chunin exams. What it meant to be part of the Hyuga family both as the main family and the branch family." Naruto held Hinata closer. He knew that Hiashi and Hanabi were trying to change how the Hyuga clan treated those of the branch family, but he also knew that it took time to change generations of belief and tradition. He wasn't placing blame anywhere. "Neji always talked about being trapped like a bird in a cage. He said that it was in part our fight and our confrontation that gave him the courage to talk to his Uncle honestly. It took some time but the two of them had some good conversations. Your grandfather, Hiashi, told me that he and Neji had become much closer in the months before his death and the Neji attributed that to me. I think they both give me too much credit. If they didn't want to talk it out and understand each other then nothing I could have ever said would have ever helped."

"So you still have other things in here." Boruto was leaning over the edge of the chest, slowly pulling out each item.

The first was a glass vial full of sand.

"That's from Gaara, it's sand from his ultimate defense, the sand that helps to protect him from danger. Even though he's no longer a jinchuriki, he still has the ability to use the sand. That guy is one of my best friends, one of the only ones left alive who understands what it means to be a jinchuriki. To go from being one of the most hated people in the village to one of the most trusted as a Hokage. That's a lot of pressure, but Gaara's in the same boat so I can talk to him in a way I can't to anyone else. Not only that, but he doesn't treat me like I'm stupid if I don't know something. Not that Shikamaru does, but I don't like looking ignorant in front of the other Kage."

The next item Boruto pulled out a monkey with a Kage hat and a pipe. 

"It's something I first saw in one of these rooms a number of years ago after the village had been destroyed by Pein. Konohamaru had saved my old jacket there and put it with the Saratobi family items. In their box was a monkey just like this one. I remember spotting one like it a couple of years later when to the two of us were walking around one of the festivals. They had made a number of them for Lord Third, and since his summons was Enma, the monkey king, well I had to buy it. Lord Third looked after me and gave me a lot of opportunities. He is someone I really looked up to as a child."

Boruto didn't understand that one. "Dad, you just told me that the village talked about locking you up, even possibly putting a hit out on you right?"

"Yes."

"Well none of that would have been done without the express consent of the Hokage tough right?"

"You're right."

"Wasn't Sarutobi Hokage when you were a child? Wouldn't he have been the one who locked you up and talked about the idea of an assassination hit? He's the one who signed the papers that said it was okay for you to live alone at the age of four. How can you look up to a man like that?" The anger in Boruto's voice was rising.

"Boruto, I think you have some things wrong. Yes the decision to have me locked up or executed would have ultimately been on the Hokage's desk. I believe that Gigi would have fought to keep me alive and free. I was moved out of the orphanage for a number of reasons, one of which was because I presented a threat to the other kids. You need to remember that I have been a jinchuriki since birth. At about three, three and a half Kurama started to make himself known, and I had very little control over his outbursts. Gigi knew that if I was on my own, Kurama wouldn't feel as threatened, plus then he could make my well being a continually S-class mission and therefore have me watched over by capable shinobi and ANBU. It's true they weren't allowed to get close, and I never really learned how to behave in a family situation, but ultimately everyone was safer. The other thing was the fact that both of my parents left me money when they died. So in order to stay at the orphanage I would have had to give them all of my money and Gigi wasn't willing for that to happen. Jiraya also wasn't willing to sign away his rights." Naruto figured that this was going to be something that he might have to explain in more depth later.

"The Icha Icha books?" 

"Ah, those are Jiraya's work. He was one of the legendary Sanin. He was on the same team as Granny Tsunade and Orichimaru, lead by Hiruzen Sarutobi. He was also the team leader for your grandfather Minato, as well as taking on three war orphans. He took it really hard not only when Orichimaru defected from the leaf but also when my parents died as they were close. He took to traveling the country. He used the guise of a writers moving from city to city as a way to gather information. Surprisingly his books did well. He set aside one of the first copies of each of his books for me. He signed them all too, well except for the last one; that one was published after he died." He didn't even try to hide the tears. Thinking about Jiraya still hurt after all these years. When he looked on his children it was often Jiraya who he hoped approved, as he had spent more time with the pervy old man then he did with either of his parents; although he had been happy to meet them at least.

Hinata took a minute to open the bag she had brought, and unpack the thermos of water. "Here," she handed it to her husband, giving him time to greive a little. She watched as her son opened each of the Icha Icha books to the fly page and read the inscription there. Jiraya had often written long heart felt messages to the godson he could never claim. Messages about his hopes and dreams for the child's future, things he wished for Naruto. Near the end, when they had been spending time together the messages became much more personal, if that were possible. They were notes of encouragement and pride, telling the young boy to keep on his path and to hold true to his heart. It wasn't until after his death when his estate had been settled that Naruto had actual led received the books. To know that the man he had so treasured had treasured him in return had been a welcome heart break. There was a copy of the books at the house, a copy that Kakashi had made sure he had, because he didn't know Jiraya had some set aside for him.

"That in your hand is one of your grandfather's special kunai." Naruto's smile gradually made it's way back to his face. "He was know as the Yellow Flash of the Leaf before he became the fourth Hokage. He was able to use Tobirama Senju's teleportation jutsu although he changed it a little bit. He called it the flying thunder jutsu. He marked his kunai and wherever he threw them that's where he could teleport to. He taught a number of other Jonin how to do it as well although they need to be together to make it work."

"Can you do it Dad?" This was cool, he remembered learning about the yellow flash in the academy.

"I guess in a way I can, but only because I have the powers of the Sage of the Six Path within me. I can only transport to where Sasuke is and he can only transport to where I am. I would love to be able to do what my dad did. You need excellent chakra control. If you want to learn, I would suggest asking Genma for help. He was one of Dad's personal guards and he taught Genma, Raidou and Iwashi."

It was a little disappointing that this wasn't something huh could learn from his father, but they did have the rasengan. Looking into the chest Boruto realized that they were almost at the bottom. "There's a book on shoji here."

"A gift from Shikaku, Shikamaru's father. If you think Shikamaru's smart, well he learned it from somewhere. Shikaku was one of the shinobi who often looked in on me when I was a child. He taught me how to make and stick to a budget. There was a time when I thought in needed to be book smart in order to be a good leader. I asked Shikaku to teach me how to play shoji. He gave me the instruction book as a starter and then proceeded to tell me that there were different types of intelligence and that I shouldn't diminish the way I thought. I often went to talk to him. He would make me talk my problems out and give him different options for solutions. He never gave me answers, he made me work for my own answers. He was willing to give me advice when I needed it and listen to me work for my own answers, I still miss that man. Both he and Inoichi Yamanaka left a large hole in the Leaf."

A small mask was the next item he pulled out.

"That was given to me by Orochimaru. He retrieved it from the Uzumaki clan compound before it was completely destroyed. I guess my family was really good seals and had huge chakra stores which is why they were often used as jinchuriki. I don't know the meaning behind this mask, but after everything settled downI had Orochimaru take me back out there and there was nothing left, the buildings had been completely leveled. I keep searching the records room in hopes that somewhere someone has written something down."

When Boruto shook out the black cloak with red clouds he almost wanted to shove it back in the trunk when he heard his mother's gasp.

"That's an Akatsuki cloak. They were a complicated group. Originally they were started by the war orphans that Jiraya had trained, but they were corrupted by Zetsu into trying to end the shinobi world. Pein, one of his pupils, killed Jiraya, and they were responsible for the death of many of the jinchuriki. They had been after me for years. Orochimaru had been one and so had Sasuke's brother Itachi. I keep the cloak to remember that sometime people start things for the right reasons, but those reasons get twisted by others. The paper flower that's in there is from Konan. She left it for me when your mother and I got married. I told her she would have been welcome, but she felt that her presence might bring back painful memories for others. I know that she is still living nearby, and I go to visit her often. We talk about her former team mates and Jiraya. She is a lovely woman who I will miss when she is gone."

Hinata cried, she had no idea that this woman who held a piece of her husband, was so close and yet felt unwelcomed in their village. She wanted to make sure that Naruto knew that she wanted to go with him the next time. Not because she didn't trust him, but because she wanted to know the stories as well and to honor this woman who had been through so much.

Boruto pulled out a mass of green wrapped and sealed in plastic.

"Good lord, you weren't joking when you said you had one. Please for the love of all things sane, don't open that." Hinata laughed as she saw what her son held in his hands.

"Hey! It's not bad! If it's good enough for Lee and Gai, why isn't it good enough for me?"

"It's more a question of taste, honey."

Naruto looked confused, "I have taste."

"Yes, you do which is why, I do all of your clothes shopping. You thought orange was in."

Boruto laughed, if the package in his hand was what he thought it was he could understand his mother's concern. "So this is the jumpsuit from Might Gai that you told us about earlier."

"Yes, no matter what any one says," Naruto tickled the woman in his lap gently, "there's absolutely nothing wrong with wearing a green jumpsuit or an orange track suit."

"Well that's what you say, but the rest of the shinobi world knows better." Boruto muttered.

"Hey, you get your snarky butt over here buddy and I'll tickle you like I am your mother."

Boruto grinned, "yeah like I'm going to do that."

"Fine, just remember that I know where you sleep and will get you." Naruto wiggled his fingers in his son's direction. Loving the fact that for the first time in a long time they were joking and laughing together like a family, all that was missing was Himawari.

"I see another box here, but there's no picture on it." 

"Yeah, that one's special. Open it. I'm sure your mother remembers it." Naruto leaned his chin against her shoulder.  
Inside were the remnants of two scarves. One a bright red and the other a forest green with a white stripe.

"Oh!" Hinata's hand flew to her mouth. "I wondered where they went." It took her a minute to regain her composure. "After everything settled I figured that I would finally take my chance and let your father know that I liked him. My way of doing that was to knit him a scarf. So I was knitting him this red scarf, to show him the power of my love. When Hanabi was kidnapped. We went to rescue her and I couldn't figure why Naruto was wearing the green and white stripped scarf. He said it had been made by someone dear to him and I thought; that's it I've lost my chance. It was after everything was over and we were on our way home that he explained the scarf had been made by his mother and kept by Konohamaru. I managed to tell him how I felt and so did he. He wore my scarf and I wore his mother's. Over time, like all things they started to fray and tear. I was scared that they'd been thrown out. I'm so glad you kept them, especially your mothers."

 

"Ok so it looks like the last thing here is this large book." Boruto pulled it out.

"Bring it here son, and we'll go through it." Naruto motioned the ground beside him and Boruto sat down. "There were a number of smaller pieces of paper and things like that, that I didn't want to loose, so Kakashi helped me find this portfolio to keep them all safe. I don't really have them in any special order." He helped to open the book, balancing it on one knee so both Hinata and Boruto could see. "The first item there is a gambling ticket from Granny Tsunade. I don't think this one was a winning one, but it was one from when I was with Jiraya and we first found her. This is one of my essays from the academy that I actually didn't do too badly on. Iruka wrote a note on it about how much I'd improved and I think that's why I kept it. The next is my written portion from the Chunin exams. Do you remember having Ibiki Morino as our one proctor. We had a written exam of like nine questions and a were encouraged to cheat. Your mother sat beside me and told me I could copy off of her. The thing was if we got caught our whole team was out. If we failed the test our whole team was out. It was hell."

"Dad it's blank!"

"Yeah, I managed to bluff my way through, I couldn't answer any of the questions."

"The last question was pretty much a pass fail type and just asked if we were going to give up." Hinata remember that test, it scared the shit out her. 

"Ibiki gave me my test back as a gag after I made Hokage. He said that it was the first time he'd ever seen anyone hand in a blank paper. The guy still intimidates me, and I'm supposed to be his boss. Any way, the picture here is of Fukasaku's back. When Jiraya fought against Pein for the last time he had his throat crushed and needed to pass on what he'd learned. He wrote a code on Fukasaku's back that he knew I'd figure out. It took a bit but that's what helped us defeat Pein. That is a picture of Teuchi and Ayame after they rebuilt Ichiraku Ramen, the best ramen stand in the Leaf. Man, I could eat there every day and not get sick of ramen. Here are a couple of pictures done by Sai through out the years. His art style has really evolved. I don't always understand the more abstract pictures he draws, but I do treasure them. This is a picture of Sora, he sends one every couple of years but this is the first one. He also has traces of the nine tails inside of him. I have a couple of pictures that people have found or taken for me over the years. This is of the academy class the year that my parents graduated. I also have one of their wedding photos, Dad's inauguration photos, as well as one when mom was pregnant with me. One of my favorites is of my mom and Mikoto Uchiha both pregnant at the same time, Itachi is with her. I have a copy of our academy graduating class, a second one of each of our teams that everyone signed, our wedding, my inauguration, your mother pregnant with both of you, your birth, and a picture of you and Himawari every year on your birthday." 

"Well, Boruto what do you think?" Hinata didn't want to turn this into lesson, but she wanted to make sure that her son had a better understanding of his father.

Boruto face started to scrunch up. He wasn't sure why, but the way his mother phrase that last question really pissed him off. His dad moving had him stopping.

Naruto lifted Hinata off his lap and helped her to stand. He used his good hand to wipe his face of the last of the tears that still lingered. "Sorry honey." Slowly he stood and moved over towards the trunk, the portfolio in his hands. Putting it at the bottom, he reached for the box that held the last of the scarves. The fingers of prosthetic arm trailing over it like he could feel the texture of them with those fingers. "I know we went through these stories quickly. Honestly both your mother and I could talk for hours about the people behind these items. Hell, you could likely ask any of our friends about the majority of them and they could tell different stories. I know the majority of them have similar trunks. Of course that might almost seem like lessons." He folded Yahiko's cloak, Itachi's cloak was in Sasuke's chest. What he wouldn't give to have these people with him instead of the items. A deep sigh escaped him before he could hold it back, as trite as it was, it was the cycle of life. People lived and died, some lived long happy lives and some had their lives cut short. The boxes stacked neatly to one side before nestling some of the other items around them. "It was good to go through these. Some of the memories still hurt obviously, but these are people who are important to me and your mother in some ways. They shaped who I am and in many ways became my family." He cut himself off quickly not wanting to let the others know how close he was to breaking down again. Swallowing hard a couple of times, Naruto took a breath. Letting them see a couple of tears was fine, completely breaking down, right now was not. "I don't mind talking about them again, or going over them item with you again later. I do ask that you don't go through this again without either your mother or me here. If you'd like, I can get a chest for you to keep in your room for now and you can start one. It took me many years to decide what I wanted to keep in here."

"You mean you took other items out?" This was almost a safer topic although Boruto wasn't sure why.

"Yeah, some of them are at my office, like the album I have of all the art work you and Himawari have drawn for me over the years and gifts from the Kages. I also have some of the items at our home, like the tea set that Sasuke brought by the last time he was in town." The trunk now closed, he lifted it back onto the shelf it had been on. He let his hand linger on the chest for a minute before turning to his family. "Well, let's head on out of here and get some ramen eh? I might even be able sneak away for the rest of the day." 

Walking up the stairs, Naruto put his hand on his son's shoulder. Was Boruto really twelve now? Where had the time gone? "Boruto, I know I haven't been the best father. I've been too focused on being the best Hokage and what the village needed and that meant that you and your sister and your mother often came last. I'm trying to change that, just be patient. Please."

Boruto didn't say anything, he couldn't. His father, the Hokage, the Hero of the Leaf, was asking him for something. He just gave a short nod and took a quick step ahead.

Naruto reached out wanting hold his son back, but Hinata threaded her fingers through his hand and gave it a squeeze, before moving closer to his side. They were going to be okay. Her boys were awkward, but they were both trying.`


End file.
